Also; does whoever reads and accepts/rejects the Active applications expect that if we email it in, we fill in the form on the PDF document or can we just attach a well-labelled Word document corresponding with the form and questions?

Usually for most formal business documents requiring a signature (such as contracts) a paper version is printed, a signature affixed, a pdf copy of the signed version is created and emailed, followed by the original signed copy by postal mail.

The more recent innovation of allowing for an "electronic signature" is sometimes accepted as well by some business and governments. However in something truly important following up with a physical copy with an ink signature while retaining a copy for your own records is the more conservative approach.

Quite clearly the Church wants to simply be certain that the application signature is yours and not a forgery.

As this is an important document I would personally follow it up with a physical signed original by postal mail just to be certain.

And I was correct in sending in my signature in the form of a jpeg image; a picture of a piece of paper I signed?

Why can't you just sign the application, scan the signed copy with a scanner, and send the scanned image? Or in this day and age of hi-res digital cameras, forget the scanner and just take full picture of the signed page and crop it?

And I was correct in sending in my signature in the form of a jpeg image; a picture of a piece of paper I signed?

Why can't you just sign the application, scan the signed copy with a scanner, and send the scanned image? Or in this day and age of hi-res digital cameras, forget the scanner and just take full picture of the signed page and crop it?